(I work in a shop which sells top-end bedroom and bathroom furnishings. The clientele consists mainly of wealthy, middle-aged women, predominantly with a very privileged and often entitled outlook on life. I love retail and genuinely enjoy customer service but am often pushed to my limit by these customers. I take a phone call from a client who ordered a custom-made bed head. From the notes in the system, I can see that she has been given a rough estimate of when it will be made and delivered. We always call people when their items are ready, before arranging delivery.)

Customer: “What time will my bed head arrive today? I need to go out this afternoon.”

Me:*confused* “I’m sorry, it doesn’t appear that your bed head has arrived to us from the maker. Has someone called to tell you it would be delivered to you today?”

Customer: “I was told it would take [amount of time], so I’ve made arrangements, and I need it today.”

Me: “I’m sorry about the misunderstanding. I’ll chase this up and get back to you.”

(I make some calls and find out that her bed head has just been finished and is able to be delivered the next day. I call the customer back with the good news.)

Customer:*now outraged* “What do you mean, it’ll be delivered tomorrow?! I’ve had my bed frame taken away this morning by removalists! Where am I going to sleep?! I’ll have to stay in a hotel!”

Me: “I’m sorry that you’ve made arrangements prematurely, but we would have discussed with you upon ordering that we would call you when the bed head was ready to arrange delivery.” *then realising something* “It’s just the bed head you’ve ordered from us; do you still have your mattress?”

Customer: “Yes.”

Me: “So… you still have something to sleep on tonight, then?”

Customer: “No, I told you I’ve had the frame taken away. I can’t sleep on my mattress on the floor!”

Me:*wondering if I might qualify for Olympic level eye-rolling* “Oh? Why not? Sometimes it’s fun to ‘rough it’ for a night; you can pretend you’re camping!”

(The customer was not amused. Thankfully, I only needed to work there for two months.)